Amorous
by Mrs.ZivaDiNozzo
Summary: This is just a series of happy Tiva one shots of their lives together once they finally become canon. :D
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys, this is my first Tiva fic! So be patient with me I'm not sure how good it is so be sure to leave a review and let me know what you think. I picked Amorous for the title after I saw the word's definition: Showing, feeling, or relating to sexual desires, adj.**

**I want to turn this into a series of one shots and drabbles of their lives together after they don't have to pretend anymore. :D**

**Be sure to R&R!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

**The Beginning to an Amazing Summer**

**Summary: This is set a few weeks after Tony and Ziva move in together. It's just a cute morning of them waking up and eating breakfast together. :D**

Ziva woke from what felt like a very peaceful sleep. She opened her eyes, not really focusing on anything, and felt someone's strong arms tighten around her. She sighed contentedly and snuggled back into Tony's side.

"Mornin', Sweetcheecks…" he mumbled placing a soft kiss to the top of her head.

"Hey…" she managed to get out while she stretched looking up into his tired hazel eyes. She reached a hand up to touch the side of his face and pull him to her to kiss him.

"I love you." She whispered to him smiling. Tony loved her smile she was the most beautiful when she smiled, which happened a lot more often lately.

"I love you too." He told her, pressing his lips to her forehead.

Ziva sighed once more, wishing she could stay here in bed with Tony all day. Tony, however, had other plans.

He groaned and stretched before he got out of bed.

"No…" Ziva groaned rolling onto her stomach on his side of the bed.

He chuckled. "I'm going to go fix us some breakfast." He said, pulling a pair of sweatpants on over his boxers, not bothering to put a shirt on. "Hope you're hungry!"

"Well, I think we both worked up quite an appetite last night. Wouldn't you agree?" She teased.

Tony laughed and headed to the kitchen.

Ziva got out of bed shortly after Tony left and found one of his old Ohio State shirts to pull on. As soon as she was dressed she headed to kitchen to see what concoctions Tony was attempting to cook.

They had been living together, in Tony's apartment, for about three weeks now. Ziva loved just spending time with him. She couldn't remember a time in her adult life she had ever been this happy. Last night was night was different though. It was the first time they had made love. She felt bad at first that it hadn't happened until now, but she realized it wasn't a mistake to wait a while. That just wasn't something she wanted to rush into with Tony. They were taking it slow, something they were both perfectly happy with. She cared too much about their relationship to not take things slow then screw something up and have to end this wonderful connection they had between them.

He was so gentle and caring, it just made her love him even more. Knowing everything she had been through he was careful in trying not to do anything to upset her. No man Ziva had ever been with had treated her this way and that was one of the many things she loved about Tony.

Walking into the kitchen she smiled at the site before her. She had never seen Tony cook. He was making scrambled eggs and pancakes. He had also gone ahead and sat two places on the island for them to eat at.

"Since when do you cook?" She asked sauntering over to stand next to him.

He stopped what he was doing to wrap his arms around her, pull her to him, and press his lips to hers. He loved it when she wore his shirts. She looked so sexy in them.

"Since I got tired of take-out and frozen dinners." He answered.

"You know…," Ziva said placing her hands on his chest, looking him in the eye her lips just a mere inch from his. "You really should wear a shirt while you are cooking…" She trailed off closing the space between their lips and kissing him. Tony deepened the kiss for just a moment then broke it.

Giving her an incredulous look, "Ziva David, are you complaining about me being shirtless?"

"Not at all…" She said giving a quick peck on the lips before retrieving the orange juice from the fridge and going to pour herself a glass.

Tony finished the scrambled eggs and rounded the island to scoop some onto Ziva's plate.

"Thank you." She smiled kissing his check before he pulled away.

She watched him as he poured the pancake batter onto the skillet. After making a few pancakes he attempted to flip one into the air and land it on the plate on the countertop behind him. The pancake missed its goal and landed on the floor. The confidence momentarily drained from Tony's face as he picked the pancake up to throw it away.

"Good try, _Mon petit pois." _She teased, "Come eat." She patted the island stool next to her pushing the scrambled eggs and orange juice his way as he passed her the pancakes and syrup.

They sat eating their breakfast in a peaceful silence until a question came to mind that Ziva just had to ask.

"Is this what its always going to be like now?" She asked.

Tony looked up at her from his food. "What exactly do you mean?"

"This." Ziva said motioning around her. "Us just being able to be together and be happy and not have to worry about "breaking the rules"." She took his hand that rested between them. "Us not having to pretend anymore."

Tony was momentarily taken aback by her question. Was she afraid this was all just going to be taken away from her one day? That is was all too good to be true?

"Yes." He finally answered squeezing her hand. Ziva seemed to relax at that. "Ziva, I love you and I can't imagine what life would be like without you. I love that we don't have to pretend anymore. Having to see you every day and not be able to tell you I loved you was the most painful thing I ever had to do. I've never been more happy then I am when I'm with you. You are everything to me, Ziva. I'm just sorry it took me so long to realize it." He finished placing a kiss to her hand that he held in his.

"It took me even longer to realize that I need you, Tony, and I'm sorry for that." She admitted, her eyes leaving his.

"Hey," he said, getting her attention again. His free hand reached out to cup the side of her of her face, his thumb moving over her cheek. "I love you." He told her leaning in to kiss her.

Ziva broke the kiss to say "I love you too, Tony, so much." She kissed him again more passionately this time, wishing they could stay like this forever.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Please review I would love to know what you thought. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to update. Aside from being super busy this summer I had some trouble with this chapter, it just wasn't coming together like I thought it would. THEN I had computer problems when I did finally sit down to type it up. So here is a story that was (I think) two weeks in the making. As I hinted before I'm not particularly proud of this chapter so my apologies if it isn't as good as the first.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own anything.

**Nightmares**

Tony and Ziva sat holding hands and laughing together on the front steps to their apartment building.

"Abby is on her way." Ziva said leaning into Tony who had one arm wrapped around her waist, his other had intertwined with one of hers. "We are going to lunch with Breena then we may go to the mall."

"Sounds fun." Tony said looking down at her, soon finding himself staring.

"Tony," Ziva said snapping him back to reality. "You are staring." She smiled up at him laughing at his slightly puzzled expression.

"I'm sorry, sweetcheeks, you're so beautiful it's hard not to." He said seriously. Ziva was wearing a blue sundress with eyelet at the bottom and on the straps. Her shoes were white flats with sequence under lace, they matched the dress perfectly. She wore her hair down in simple soft curls. Tony was baffled by her beauty every time he looked at her; he grew to love her even more with every hour they spent together.

Ziva smiled even brighter and let out another laugh. "Thank you, _ahava_." She squeezed his hand and moved to kiss him. Tony deepened the kiss moving one hand the back of her head, using his other arm to pull her closer to him.

Ziva broke the kiss a few long moments later figuring people were going to start staring considering they were out on a busy street. "What time does the game start?" She asked placing a hand on his chest. He was going to a Nationals game with McGee and Jimmy.

"Not 'till five so I think the guys and I are going to the bar for a while before we head to the stadium." He told her taking the hand she had on his chest in both of his.

"Well, have fun." She leaned in to kiss him one more time before standing after seeing Abby pull up to the curb. "I love you."

"Love you too. Have fun, buy some stuff." He smiled kissing her forehead before she got in the car. He waved at Abby then headed back inside.

"You guys are the cutest couple ever, I swear!" Abby complimented putting the car in drive after Ziva buckled her seatbelt.

"Thank you." Ziva smiled thinking of how happy he made her.

* * *

"So… I have some amazing news." Breena announced after the waiter brought the women their drinks.

"Ooh, what is it?" Abby asked excitedly.

"Well, you guys know how Jimmy and I were seriously looking into adoption…"

"Yes…" Ziva smiled unable to hide her excitement for her.

"We've officially started the adoption process!" The woman was absolutely beaming with happiness.

"Breena that is wonderful! Congratulations! I am so happy for you two." Ziva stood to hug her friend.

"Thank you!" She beamed in reply.

"Oh my gosh!" Abby exclaimed. "Do you have pictures?"

"Of course," Breena reached into her purse for her phone. "His name is Benjamin and he is almost two years old. He's actually from London, so we get to go get him and get his visa and everything straightened out so he can come home with us." She explained holding her phone out to her friends.

The boy in the pictures had a head full of brown curly hair. He had the biggest blue eyes Ziva had ever seen on a child. His smile was so large it took up half his face. His little cheeks were read from laughing it seemed and he held a teddy bear in his arms.

"He is just precious!" Ziva commented.

"Isn't he? I can't wait to bring him home and introduce him to everyone after he gets settled and used to everything." Breena told them.

"If you bring him by NCIS you may not leave with him! He's just too adorable!" Abby warned with a giggle.

* * *

Ziva unlocked the door to the apartment and carried all of her shopping bags inside. Breena had to leave the mall a little early so Abby decided they should go on a baby shopping spree for the couple. She did actually buy a few things for herself and for Tony but most of the bags were full of baby clothes, toys, blankets and other baby things.

Realizing Tony probably wasn't going to be home for a while she decided to go ahead and take a shower.

Once she was showered and clothed again in one of Tony's shirts Ziva sat down on the couch and sighed growing a little worried. She knew what would happen if she fell asleep without him there. Tony kept the nightmares away. She felt silly for being afraid to fall asleep but she didn't want all of those memories coming back again. Reaching for the television remote she decided to find a movie to watch.

* * *

Tony entered the apartment quietly figuring Ziva was asleep, and placed his keys in the bowl on the table by the door. Before he could take two more steps though, he heard an almost blood curdling scream.

"Ziva!" he yelled automatically, running to find her.

He found her in the living room lying on the couch asleep, dreaming.

"No!" she screamed her arm thrashing limply in her sleep.

Tony carefully sat down on the edge of the couch and took one of her hands in his. "Zi, wake up. You're just dreaming. You're okay."

Her eyes snapped open fearfully examining her surroundings. She relaxed once she realized she was safe.

"Tony…" She whimpered quietly the tears pooling in her eyes.

"Hey, you're alright. Shh…" He pulled her to him as she cried into his chest. He rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head.

"I am sorry… That was weak of me." She sat up a few minutes later wiping her face not looking Tony in the eye.

"Ziva, you could never be weak. Are you okay though?" He asked.

"Yes, I am fine. I tried not to fall asleep without you but, I guess I was really tired." She told him.

"What do you mean? You knew this would happen?" He asked growing more concerned.

"I did not want to tell you…" she started. "It happens almost every time I go to bed without you."

"Zi, babe why didn't you tell me?" he asked taking her hands in his again.

"I didn't want you to think you could not stay out late or anything because of me. That would've been selfish of me." She whispered.

"Ziva… you can tell me anything. You know that right?" he said cupping the side of her face in one hand looking her straight in the eye.

"Yes." She smiled leaning forward to kiss him. "Can we go to bed?"

"Of course." Tony replied standing, not letting go of hear hand, and leading her into the bedroom.

* * *

"I love you so much, Ziva." He whispered to her once they were settled in bed. She lay using his chest as a pillow with both of his arms wrapped around her.

"I love you more, Tony…" She whispered finally drifting off into a peaceful sleep in the arms of her angel.

A/N: Let me know what you think! Next chapter should be up in a few days assuming my computer doesn't crash again. :D


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: O to the M to the G I am absolutely soooooo sorry for the long time between updates but my computer got what the techy dude told me was a "Root Kit" virus and it's VERY hard to get rid of. In fact, I'm not even really supposed to be on the internet. Anyways, HOPEFULLY (pray with me please), my comp is fine and I can do regular updates again. :-D **

**Also I am working on a new tiva story that I really like so far as to how it's turning out. It's gonna have some drama in it but nothing like super AU. :-D **

**Two more things: THANK YOU to my friend Kristen (Her ff name is K44 go read her tiva story, Secrets, its great!) for giving me the basic idea to the chapter and helping my writing muse come back! I love you bunches! Mmwaah! And last but not least thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed, favorited or followed my story so far! You guys are what keep me going with my writing! **

***break line***

**Chapter 3: **Remembering by Faith

Tony sat on the couch on a cool Sunday morning, waiting for Ziva so they could start their movie. He had picked out _The Little Prince_, a movie he had seen multiple times and a book he knew she had read.

When Ziva finally got finished with whatever she was doing she came and curled up against Tony's side with his arms around her and her head on his chest. He kissed the top of her head, pulled a blanket over them and pressed play. He wondered if he should tell her the real reason they were watching this movie. They had promised not to lie to or keep things from each other anymore, but he wasn't sure if this was something he was ready to talk about. He did hate hiding it from her, however.

Halfway through the movie he finally worked up the courage to explain. He paused the movie and started off by asking, "Do you wanna go to church with me?"

Ziva was slightly confused. _Where did this come from? He never goes to church… _she thought. "I would love to, but…" She moved to sit up so she could face him. "Why now Tony?" She smiled placing a hand on his leg, noticing his nervous demeanor. _Why is he nervous? He's _never _nervous about anything._ "I don't remember ever seeing you go to church."

"Well… you know… here lately… I've had a lot to be thankful for…" He took her hand, smiling. "I think I've just kind of realized that maybe God is on my side. Also I at least go on this day every year…" He trailed off thinking about how he wanted to explain the next part.

Ziva cocked her head in curiosity. "Why?" She asked gently, smiling up at him.

Tony looked down at their hands before answering. "My mother." He said quietly.

Ziva got it though, remembering one evening in the break room at NCIS looking through the pictures Tony had developed from his old Polaroid. Now it made sense why they were watching that movie and why he had been acting not like himself. "Oh, Tony…" she whispered squeezing his hand and cupping the side of his face with her free hand. "Today is when you lost her." She said more as a statement than a question for she was fairly certain she was correct.

"36 years," was his reply. "Every Sunday we would go to church whether Sr. was with us or not. Ninety percent of the time he wasn't. He was always "too busy" even on Sundays."

"You are Catholic, yes?" She asked not really sure what religion he was, that's how seldom he spoke of going to church.

"Yeah, I had just made my first communion a few weeks before she passed." He told her.

"Well, shall we go get dressed?" She stood and pulled him with her.

"Yeah." He mumbled heading towards their room.

This was so out of character for Tony. She hated seeing him like this. Her heart ached for him, for she knew _exactly _how he must be feeling having lost both of her parents and two siblings.

"Hey." She said grabbing his arm and pulling him to face her. Letting all of her concern for him show on her face, she stretched up on her tip toes and placed a soft kiss to his lips. "I love you." She knew he already knew full well just how much she loved him but thought maybe he needed to hear it.

"I love you too, Zi." He kissed her back, a little longer that time though. "Let's go get ready. Mass starts in an hour."

* * *

Tony pulled into the parking lot of St. Patrick's Catholic Church. After putting the car in park he sat in quiet for a moment remembering one of the last times he and his mother had gone to church. Her and Senior had gotten into an argument over him working too much and how sad it was that he couldn't even take a couple hours off to go to church. He remembered her seeming so upset then muttering something about how much he had changed and not for the good. Her mood quickly changed for the better once she realized Tony was in the car with her. She never let any of her worries show around him. They had gone to mass, then gone to a movie, then out for ice cream, presumably spending as much of the day away from Senior as possible. That was one of his last happy memories of her.

"Tony?" Ziva's concerned voice snapped him back to the present. "Are you alright?" she asked reaching over to touch the side of his face.

"Yeah." He smiled and took her hand that was on his face in both of his. "Just having a flashback."

He then hopped out of the car and quickly crossed to the other side to open the door for Ziva.

"Thank you, _mon cher._"She stood and kissed his cheek before taking his hand to head towards the entrance.

When they entered the building Ziva was at a loss for words. The church was far more beautiful than any synagogue she had ever been in.

"Tony…" She whispered looking around the entrance hall. "You did not tell me how beautiful this place is." She couldn't wait to see the inside.

"Yeah…" He smiled. I guess it is pretty beautiful.

"Tony?" They both heard a familiar voice from behind them.

"Hey, Abs." Tony greeted turning around only to be embraced by one of Abby's fierce hugs.

"That time of the year again, huh?" she whispered in his ear. "And you brought Ziva!" She exclaimed moving to hug her other friend.

"Hi, Abby." Ziva laughed hugging her back.

"Let's go in!" She Abby grabbed both Tony and Ziva's hands and led them into the church.

Ziva was again struck by the beauty of the place. The inside was just as beautiful as the outside but it was _huge_. She felt so small standing in the back looking at all the columns and pews.

Abby let go of their hands once they entered the church. Tony, however, only let go of Ziva's other hand long enough to dip his fingers in the holy water and do the sign of the cross.

She knew this was hard for him, the fact was only proven further when he took her hand again squeezing tightly not looking her in the eye. He led them up the aisle after Abby his gaze fixed on the floor. She had never seen him like this. He was always her rock when she was upset now he needed her to be that for him and she was more than willing.

Abby led them down the aisle to where she normally sat. Her and Tony both genuflected before moving to sit down. Ziva had been to a few Catholic masses in her life and had always wondered why they did that. She would have to remember to ask him sometime.

Once seated Tony wrapped and arm around Ziva's waist and pulled her closer to him. He just needed to be close to her right now. She was his anchor keeping him hooked in reality, keeping his mind from drifting to any less pleasant memories of his mother.

Ziva wanted so badly to just kiss him and take his pain away but she certainly could not do that here. Instead she settled for taking his free hand in hers and leaning in to whisper, "_Ani ohevet otkhah_. I am sorry for what you are going through right now." She knew it probably didn't matter much in that moment but she wanted to do anything she could to help him feel better right now.

Tony broke his gaze from the front of the church and looked at Ziva. He smiled though his eyes were still sad.

"Ani ohevet otkhah." He whispered back earning a smile from her. He had been learning Hebrew for her and she already knew Italian and spoke it sometimes even though he didn't have as strong of ties to his ancestors as she did.

He leaned in a pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, wishing he could do more. He knew she hated seeing him like this. He also knew that she knew exactly how he felt. She _had _been through this three more times than him and under _much_ worse circumstances. He just couldn't be himself and treat this like any other day. That would be wrong. He had to spend the day doing things that made him feel closer to his mother. He was getting older after all and he was only 8 when he lost her. Those fond memories were starting to fade and they were bound to be gone eventually. He was terrified for the moment that actually happened.

* * *

After mass the three friends stood outside of St. Patrick's talking.

"So I'm meeting Tim for brunch, you guys wanna come? Abby asked.

Ziva looked at Tony not sure if he was feeling up to it or not. "We'd love to." He smiled.

That was definitely more like Tony, not missing out on an opportunity to spend time with friends.

"The usual place?" Ziva inquired.

"Yep! See you guys there!" Abby waved as she turned to leave.

* * *

Tony opened the apartment door, later that afternoon, for Ziva and walked in after her then headed into the kitchen.

"Do you want to finish the movie?" She asked walking after him.

"No…" He replied turning to face her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her longer this time letting all of his worries melt away for a few moments. He finally broke the kiss for some air and rested his forehead to hers and took a deep breath.

"Want a drink?" He crossed the kitchen to find two glasses and a bottle of blackberry wine, Ziva's favorite.

"Please." She replied hopping up on one of the barstools along the island.

He poured them both a glass and let out a loud sigh. Ziva took his hand.

"Zi?"

"Yes?" She replied with a smile taking a sip from her glass.

Tony took another deep breath and sat his glass down, finally ready to talk about what's been weighing on his mind all day.

"After losing a loved one have you ever reached a point where you're afraid you might forget all of your memories with them?" He asked looking at her hoping that didn't seem like it came out of nowhere.

Ziva's eyes widened a little and she sat her glass down then turned toward him.

"Yes, of course, a time like that comes for everyone who has lost someone." She stated simply, not wanting to think about her losses right now.

"How do you…" He trailed off trying to find the right words. "What do you do to keep from forgetting?" He asked helplessly.

Ziva's heart broke for Tony. She had never seen him like this. He was always so happy even when he was upset, he always found something to smile about.

"I… do things that make me feel closer to them." She told him looking him in the eye and focusing on him. She didn't need to think about those things right now, he needed her to be strong.

"Like going to the opera for Tali?" He aksed.

"Yes…" She smiled thinking about her sister. "Memories of her voice and my mother and brother, even some of the few happy ones with my father are starting to fade and it does scare me… You just have to keep doing things that help you feel closer to them and keep any pictures you have just anything that connects you to them."

She took his other hand in hers so she held both of them. "That is just like what you did today, Tony. You are already helping yourself remember and you didn't even realize it." She smiled and leaned in to press a quick kiss to his lips.

Tony smiled, a genuine smile, not forced. "Thank you." He pulled her into a tight hug kissing the top of her head. "I love you so much, Ziva." He whispered kissing her neck just below her ear.

"Love you too, Tony." She managed to get out before his lips crushed hers in a passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her hands twisting in his hair.

He pulled her toward the bedroom with him where they spent the rest of the day and into the late evening.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Um… SOOOOOOOOOO sorry for the late update. I've just been having a lot of trouble with the chapter I was gonna post next and I do NOT abandon an idea once I get one so I'm gonna stick with it till I get it right! On top of having issues with that chapter I've been SUPER busy it's about to be my senior year so I've had a lot of crap going on with that.

Anyways! Here's a little drabble that popped into my head that I decided to give you guys while I'm still working on the next chapter!

If you haven't read Gary's interview about Cote's departure go do it now! /2013/07/29/ncis-season-11-ziva-exit-storyline-tiv a-payoff/

That literally made my day! I'm so happy to hear all of what he said! I think it's what we all needed. :-D

Thanks for reading and have a blessed week everyone!

p.s. I like reviews! And I always love to hear what you guys have to think and anything specific you guys wanna read or anything! I all ears! :-D

This is just a cute fluffy drabble that popped into my head early this morning!

**Disclaimer:** Don't own it!

**Bond Is Not Boring**

Ziva sat on the couch with the DVD remote waiting for Tony to come back with their popcorn. When he finally came into the living room he plopped down next to her and propped his feet up on the coffee table, getting comfortable. Ziva decided to do the same, swinging her legs across his lap and draping her arm across his chest, her head resting on his shoulder.

She pressed play on _Casino Royale _as he wrapped his arms around her and absently placed a kiss to the top of her head. Ziva sighed and snuggled closer to Tony.

He noticed she felt cold so he pulled a blanket up over them both.

"Thank you." She smiled placing a hand on the side of his face and stretching up to kiss him.

"Gotta keep you and the little ninja warm." He smiled that smile that she loved so much. _Her _smile, the one only for her, his ear to ear '_You make me so happy' _smile. Tony pressed a kiss to her forehead resting a hand on her protruding belly.

Ziva smiled and snuggled back into his side focusing her attention on the movie. Soon though, she found herself drifting off to sleep. Tony was rubbing her back and that wasn't helping matters, so she let go and just let sleep overtake her.

* * *

Ziva heard a crash from the TV causing her to wake with a start.

Tony chuckled looking down at her. "Were you asleep?" He asked sounding astonished.

"Mhm…" She murmured in response stretching her legs and arms.

"How do you fall asleep during a James Bond movie?" He asked in bewilderment. "Bond isn't exactly boring."

"I was up all night last night because the baby wouldn't stop kicking. You rubbing my back earlier didn't help matters either." She said cuddling against him again.

"Why didn't you wake me? I would've stayed up with you." He told her, brushing a few stray strands of curly hair from her face.

"You looked really cute in your sleep. I didn't want to bother you." She said laughing at his face as she described him as cute. "I'm sorry, _handsome_." She added with another laugh.

"That's better." He said triumphantly. "I love your laugh." He told her pressing his lips to hers in a caste kiss.

"Well, I love _you._" She said then laughing at herself for how cheesy she just sounded.

"I love you more." He said pulling her closer to him and claiming her mouth with his.

Ziva smiled against his lips and broke the kiss with a laugh. "We are so cheesy."

"It's 'cause we love each other a lot." He said giving her one last peck on the lips before exclaiming; "Sh! This is my favorite part. It's where they poison him and the girl has to come save him."

She laughed again and settled into his side once more to finish watching the movie. This really was one of her favorite things to do with Tony, just laying together talking and watching movies.

* * *

It was really short I know! Next one will be longer I promise! Ok so please tell me what you think in the review section! And any ideas for future chapters… things you wanna read. I'm all ears! Thank you for reading! I'll try to have the next chapter up within a few days. :-D


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Wow! Update two days in a row! I feel pretty accomplished! Lol Well, here's the chapter I had so much trouble with! I want to give a BIG HUGE thank you to my bestest internet friend Kristen! She's helped me so much with this and other chapters! She even pulled an all-nighter with me to help get this chapter done and out of the way! Go read her story Secrets by K444 and she also has a Tiva song-fic called Berlin! It's fantastic go check it out and leave her some reviews!

Also feel free to leave me a review! I 3 them lots! Just let me know what you think and if you have any one shot request for future chapters!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own NCIS. At least last time I checked I didn't…

The title to this chapter is after a song by Lee Brice "Don't Believe Everything You Think" It's really fitting for this chapter so you should listen to it while reading! Ill mark where the best part is to start listening! :-D

**Don't Believe Everything You Think**

"You know? McGoo's been down in Abby's lab ever since he got here this morning… It's not like we have a case they need to be working on." Tony stated looking over at his fellow senior field agent's desk.

Ziva laughed and grabbed his hand from her spot on the edge of his desk. "Ever think they may just be having breakfast together like we are doing?" She suggested picking up her hash brown and taking a bite.

"Yeah, but do you think they're together?" He asked with a mouthful of food.

"Chew your food, Tony." She chastised with a laugh. "If they are together they will tell us when they are ready. We waited a while to tell everyone, did we not?" She leaned in and placed a chaste kiss to his lips thinking they were the only ones in the bullpen, it was still fairly early not very many people had arrived to work yet.

Just then Gibbs strode into the bullpen, coffee in hand. "Quit playing grab ass and brag your gear! We got a missing Marine out of his office last night."

Ziva hopped down from Tony's desk and quickly crossed the room to grab her gear. Tony was waiting for her just outside the bullpen as always.

"We start at the house with the wife then we'll head over to his office to collect evidence. Virginia PD is holding down the fort at the office until we get there." He informed them as soon as the elevator doors closed after his field agents. "You two take the MCRT truck." He said tossing the keys to Tony.

Tony and Ziva headed for the garage as soon as the elevator doors opened again. "Somebody find McGee!" Gibbs yelled heading in the opposite direction.

"I will call him." Ziva said pulling her phone out of her pocket and hopping into the passenger seat of the truck.

"We waiting on him?" Tony asked starting the truck.

"Nope, no sense in all three of us being late to the scene. He can drive on his own. I sent him directions." She told him. "Besides, I want to spend some time with you." She smiled taking his right hand in her left.

"I know…" He said. " That last case was a tough one. I feel like last night was the first time we did anything but go home and go to bed."

"Technically…" Ziva purred. "We did go to bed." She teased leaning over to place a quick kiss to his cheek.

* * *

"I'm really glad McGoo didn't come with us." Tony said coming to a stop at a red light.

"And why is that, Agent DiNozzo?" She mused a smirk forming on her face.

"If he were here I wouldn't be able to do this…" He leaned over placing both of his hands on either side of her face pressing his lips to hers. His tongue grazed her bottom lip and she parted them granting him entry. She scooted closer to him wrapping her arms around his neck deepening the kiss as one hand tangled itself in his hair. Both of them were lost in each other until they heard honking and realized the light had turned green.

Ziva broke the kiss with a laugh. "Drive, Tony." She whispered placing a kiss just below his ear before moving back to her seat.

* * *

They pulled up outside of the Marine's home and noticed the Virginia P.D. cars parked outside the house. Tony scoffed, "Wonder how hard it'll be to get these guys off our case." He sighed, frustrated and hopped out of the truck and over headed over to where Gibbs stood, followed by Ziva.

Gibbs was talking to the chief of police. "Chief these are Special Agents David and DiNozzo. We will be taking over the case once we get to the Marine's office." Just then McGee finally arrived.

"A little late there, McTardy?" Tony called over to the senior field agent as he made his way over to where everyone stood.

"McGee, with me and the chief." Gibbs said turning towards the house. "You two wait out here." He said to Tony and Ziva.

Tony opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by one of the chief's officers. "DiNozzo?" The man asked looking very surprised to see Tony.

"That's Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo." Tony said turning to see who was speaking to him. "Wait… Leinweber?"

"Yeah man! Transferred down here about five years ago. The wife didn't wanna move to Baltimore so I moved here." He explained. The two friends shook hands and clapped each other on the shoulder.

"Did you marry Alexandra then?" Tony asked. "I remember you two were getting pretty serious when I left."

"Yep, been married 4 years last month." The man smiled proudly.

"Well good." Tony smiled and placed a hand on Ziva's back. "This is my girlfriend, Ziva." He introduced her internally grimacing at the word "girlfriend" he hated using that to describe his relationship to her. She was so much more to him… but he couldn't exactly call her his fiancé since he hadn't proposed… yet. He had actually been thinking about it but he needed Gibbs' permission first.

"Benjamin Leinweber," He announced holding out his hand to her. "It's nice to meet you." He grinned a big dimpled grin as she shook his hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well." Ziva said returning his smile.

"I wonder how my boss is doing working with another agency on the case… He isn't too keen on sharing." Tony told Benjamin.

"My boss is the same way." Benjamin admitted with a laugh. "I'm sure though your boss will get his way. He seemed pretty determined to get us out of your way."

"That's our Gibbs!" Tony joked.

Before anything else could be said Gibbs, McGee, and the Chief of Police exited the house. "DiNozzo!" Gibbs called.

"Yeah, Boss?" Tony jogged over to Gibbs leaving Ziva with Benjamin.

"So how long have you two been together?" He asked her leaning back against the car he stood next to.

"Six months on Friday." She answered with a smile, thinking about the date they had planned. Tony was going to cook supper for the two of them and Ziva was to stay out of the kitchen and let him prepare it completely by himself. Not being sure how much he knew about cooking this scared her a little… After he prepared dinner they would eat a candle lit dinner and just spend the night together watching movies or playing cards. Or maybe they would just sit and talk. They really just wanted to spend time together.

"Pretty serious, huh, you guys live together?" he asked.

"Yes." She let the word roll off her tongue slowly. Why was he asking about their relationship? "Why?" She inquired.

"Well, it's just that you remind me of this girl Tony dated back in Baltimore. What was her name? Emma… Emily. Yeah that's it." He told her.

"Is that so?" Ziva asked raising and eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, you kinda even look like her." He admitted.

Ziva cocked her head in curiosity. This girl must have been pretty significant in Tony's life if this guy remembered her enough to know Ziva looked like her. This was odd considering she knew how much of a player Tony used to be. "Was he pretty serious with this girl?" She asked him.

"Oh yeah, they dated for about six months and they were always together when he wasn't at work. She even came to the office to have lunch with him about once a week." He told her.

"Then what?" Ziva prodded sensing there was more he wanted to say. She was slightly annoyed at the fact that he thought she looked like her, although she wasn't really sure why.

"Well he came to work one morning and announced that he had proposed to her. I was really surprised he had, considering what Wendy put him though." Ziva shook her head in understanding. She still hated Wendy for what he did to Tony, however , she couldn't help but be happy he hadn't married her just for the fact that she never would have met him. "She was the reason he started all those one night stands and crap he used to do. All that stopped, though when he met Emily." He stopped for a moment observing Ziva's facial expressions, which were clearly telling him to continue.

"He was really into the whole wedding planning thing with her, too. Always on the phone with or texting her if he had even a free _second_ at work. It was sickening, how in love they were." He said with an eye roll. "At the time I didn't get it but now that I've been though that I do." He admitted.

"So how did it end?" Ziva pushed on wanting to know what ended such a seemingly perfect relationship. She glanced over at Tony who still stood talking to Gibbs then back at Leinweber.

"We don't really know…" He confessed with a shrug. "He came in one day about a week from the wedding seeming real upset so I asked what was wrong and he told me the two of them were through. It was a shock to all of us… He never gave us any real reason as to why either. After that it was straight back to his old ways. One night stands after getting drunk every other night…" He finished the story with a sigh.

"Tony has changed a lot since then." Ziva said defending the man she loved. Yes, loved. They hadn't said it very much at all. In fact, she felt they were tiptoeing around those three simple words waiting for the right time to say them.

Before Leinweber could reply Tony jogged back over to Ziva placing a hand on her forearm. "Babe, we gotta go check out the Marine's office." He said then looked over at Leinweber. "It was good seeing you again, man!" Tony said clapping his friend on the shoulder once more before turning in the direction of the truck.

"Same, man, keep in touch!" He replied.

"It was nice talking with you." Ziva lied following Tony away.

* * *

The ride to the Marine's office was filled with a certain silence. An awkward seemingly endless silence for Ziva. A peaceful and calm one for Tony, who for the moment, remained oblivious to Ziva's tension.

Meanwhile Ziva's mind was racing a million miles a minute. _Why did he leave Emily? I cannot believe I almost lost him twice… Why hadn't he told me about her? I would not have cared. Did he feel like it was something he needed to hide? Why? It had obviously ended badly if he wouldn't tell anyone why they split. Is this just further truth that Tony has real commitment issues? Not to mention Jeanne an E.J. those didn't exactly end well either… _These were all questions she needed the answers to and she fully intended to get them.

* * *

***This is the part where you can start listening to Don't Believe Everything You Think by Lee Brice***

Ziva spent the rest of the day avoiding Tony as much as possible. She just wanted some time to think before she confronted Tony about her problem. She had spent all day wondering if this relationship was a mistake. She loved Tony, _God she loved him, _but she wanted something permanent and he knew that. Would he be able to give her that? Or would he bail when things got _too _serious? She knew they would not be able to work together if things did not work out. She had to talk to Tony. She needed answers and he was going to give them to her. She would talk to him about it when they got home later.

Ziva's avoiding didn't go unnoticed by Tony, however. Sure at work they never really held hands or showed any affections towards each other except in the car to a scene when Gibbs wasn't with them, but she had been flat out ignoring him. She wouldn't even look at him. He glanced over at her desk worry etched across his face. _What's wrong? I don't remember her seeming upset over something… I don't _think _I did anything worth being ignored over…_ His pondering was interrupted by Gibbs.

"Go home, sleep, eat, and come back around ten tomorrow morning. Good work today team." He told them before exiting the bull pen, headed God knows where.

"Finally!" Tony exclaimed. "I'm dog tired. You ready to go home, sweetcheeks?" He asked her grabbing his gear and moving to wait for her in his usual spot just outside the bullpen.

"Yes." She answered quietly. She still hadn't figured out exactly what she wanted to say to him. She followed him into the elevator and didn't have a chance say anything before the doors shut and he flipped the emergency switch.

"Why have you been so quiet all day?" He asked carefully have no earthly idea what her response was going to be.

He sounded really concerned and Ziva felt sort of bad for ignoring him all day. She took a deep breath and let it out in one big sigh turning to face him, looking him in the eye for the first time in hours.

Tony smile reassuringly at her and brushed a few stray curls from her face. "What's wrong?" he asked concern written all over his face.

"Why… why didn't you tell me about Emily?" She immediately wanted to punch herself for how small and childish her voice sounded when she finally pushed the words out of her mouth.

Tony's jaw dropped and he took a step backwards. "How did you… find out about her?" he asked nervously running a hand through his hair.

"Leinweber told me." She stated simply.

"Ziva… I… No one here knows about her except Gibbs…" He started but she cut him off.

"Why? Tony what happened between the two of you? I know it may sound crazy but I can't stand the thought that I almost lost you to another woman twice… and I want to know why."

"So you know we were engaged?" He asked, needing to know just exactly how much she knew."

"Yes." She answered patiently waiting for him to continue.

"She was cheating on me." He finally said after a long silence staring at the floor.

Ziva's eyes widened, she hadn't expected that at all. "Oh Tony I'm so sorry… If I would have known I wouldn't have…" She said her hand reach up to cup the side of his face.

"I never told anyone why. I was embarrassed. I kicked her out and told her to disappear out of my life." He said quietly. "And people thought I had commitment issues before that because of Wendy…" he added with a nervous laugh.

"I've just had trouble trusting women ever since then." He said finally looking her in the eye again.

"Tony…" Ziva whispered, a pained expression on her face. Her heart broke for Tony. She couldn't believe he had been treated like that and she hated this Emily girl for it.

"But you're different, Zi. I trust you more than I've ever trusted anyone in my life. I've known you longer than I ever knew Wendy or Emily. We know everything about each other. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I love you and I trust you with my life and my heart. You are everything to me and so much more Ziva David, I love you."

Tears were brimming in her eye by the time he stopped speaking. She couldn't help but throw her arms around his neck and pull him into a tight hug. "I love you too, Tony, so much." She whispered against his neck her voice bit shaky. Then she stretched up to kiss him.

One of Tony's hands found its way to the back of her head, fingers tangling in her curly hair. His other arms snake around her waist pulling her as close to him as possible.

Ziva broke the kiss, smiling against his lips. "Ready to go home?" She asked, taking his hand that was still tangled in her hair in one of her own and flipping the emergency switch back with her free hand.

The two of them went home and fell asleep in each other's arms. Both completely confident that this relationship was not a mistake. It was something that was inevitable from the moment they had met. It just took them a while to realize it.

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think or if you have a oneshot request for a future chapter! :-D

**IMPORTANT: **This chapter took me FOREVER to get just right so I would _really _love to hear what you think! Next chapter should be up soon!


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Sorry I always take so long to update! I'm gonna try not to be this slow from now on. School just started and I've been soooo busy! Anyways here's chapter six!**

**Also I'm working on a new story so that will be up soon too! :-D **

**My tumblr is tivaisinfinite if u wanna follow me! ;-D **

**Summary: Tony spends his first Friday night alone in over 2 months because Ray is back and Ziva is with him. He misses their movie nights but then something he never expected happens... **

**Chapter 6**

Tony sat on his couch with a bowl popcorn watching a movie, by himself. This was the first time in over two months that Ziva hadn't been over for a Friday movie night. The only reason for her absence? Ray.

He had just returned home from a mission to God knows where. Ziva was home cooking him dinner right now. Tony despised the man. He seemed so fake yet perfect at the same time... That frustrated Tony to no end. There had to be _something _wrong with this man. The only thing keeping him from telling Ray to get lost was how happy he made Ziva. He just couldn't bring himself to see their relationship ending on a good note but he also couldn't bring himself to do that to Ziva. He hadn't seen her that happy since before the team was split and they brought her home from Somalia.

Tony shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts and headed to the kitchen for another beer. Just as he opened the refrigerator door he heard and frantic knock at his door. Jogging over to it he looked through the peephole to see Ziva. Her curly hair was a mess around her face and she looked as if she'd been crying.

"Ziva, what's wrong?" He asked concern laced in his voice as he opened the door.

She walked inside and pushed some hair out of her face before looking up at him. That's when he saw it. The large red mark covering the majority of her left cheek, starting just below her eye. It was already starting to bruise.

Rage swelled inside of Tony at the thought of anyone hurting Ziva. He reached up and gently stroked her other cheek. "Did _he _do this to you?" He practically growled.

Ziva shied away from him and Tony wondered why until be noticed how aggressive he just sounded. "Hey..." He said gently, cupping the good side of her face, so as not to cause her any more pain. "Are you okay?" He asked, concentrating on her now. He would deal with Ray later, but he needed to make sure she was alright first.

"Yes, I'm fine. He just... That really scared me. I've never seen him that mad and... I don't..." Her voice broke as tears started streaming down her face again. "I don't get why he got so angry... The evening was going absolutely perfect then..."

"Ziva, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." He assured her.

"It's okay." She half smiled at how much Tony really cared. Ray had never been that way with her. Sure he cared about her but he couldn't always tell when she really just didn't want to talk about something. "I want to, Tony. Maybe you can help make sense of what made him that angry."

"_Nothing _that makes him angry gives him the right to do that to you." Tony wanted to kill Ray. He couldn't understand how he could hurt such a beautiful loving woman. He would call Gibbs later and get a warrant out for Ray's arrest. Then when they brought him into NCIS he would deal with him. For now though, he was going to make sure Ziva was okay. "Do you want some tea or a blanket? Are you cold?" He asked her.

Ziva smiled at his concern for her. "Yes, those both sound nice thank you."

He grabbed a blanket off the couch and draped it over her shoulders. "Let's go into the kitchen and I'll make us some tea." He said placing his hand behind her arm guiding her that way. He instantly retracted his hand when he noticed her wince. "I'm sorry, what's wrong with your arm?" He asked concern laced in his voice once again.

"That's from where he grabbed my arms and shook me trying to make me understand what he was saying." She said, eyes fixed on the ground.

There was a hint of embarrassment in her tone. It made Tony feel absolutely terrible for not telling Ray to get lost when he had that bad feeling the day he met him. None of this would have happened. This was definitely a major setback since Somalia. She had come so far with trusting everyone again. Even with Tony. Things had been rough between them when she got back but after a couple months everything went back to normal. Or as close to normal as it could get.

"I'm gonna call Gibbs and get a warrant out for his arrest." Tony was raging with anger at this point. All he wanted to do was cause Ray some sort of physical and emotional pain a hundred times the amount he caused Ziva. He picked up his phone and dialed Gibbs' number while getting a pot ready for their tea. He noticed Ziva take a seat on one of his island stools and turned to look at her, but before he could say anything Gibbs answered the phone.

"Boss, we've got a situation." Tony explained everything and he could hear the same rage he was feeling in Gibbs' voice.

Ziva watched as Tony stood with his back to her talking to Gibbs. She wondered how they were going to find Ray. Surely he would be smart enough to hide from any authorities.

"Yeah, she's here..." There was a pause. "She's okay, pretty shook up." Another pause. "I'll keep her safe. Thanks, boss." He hung up and turned to face her. "Here's your tea." He poured her a mug and gave it to her.

"You wanna talk about it?" He asked gently not wanting to pry he just wanted to know what the hell happened.

Ziva thought for a moment, back to the beginning of their evening when it had started out so wonderfully. Then she began to explain everything.

_She had cooked an Italian dish for dinner that she knew he would like and Ray even brought some wine with him. They ate dinner together and talked and laughed. Ziva remembered feeling happy, the happiest she had been since coming back to NCIS. Then after dinner the two of them moved into the living room, taking their wine glasses with them. _

_Ziva leaned in and pressed her lips to his moving to straddle his lap. "I've missed you..." She breathed. _

_"I missed you so much while I was gone, Ziva. You were the only thing on my mind other than the mission." He told her placing a chaste kiss to her forehead. _

_She smiled at his words leaning in to kiss him again. Her arms wound around his neck, pulling herself closer to him, deepening the kiss. Ray's hands moved to her waist then made their way under her shirt lifting it up. Ziva sat up abruptly. "What are you doing?" She asked, pushing his hands down and moving off of him._

_Ray let out a frustrated sigh. "Ziva, I thought we've been through this before." He said sitting up a little straighter._

"_So did I, and I thought we were clear that I was not ready." She stated seriously._

"_We've been dating almost three months now. Don't you think it's about time?" He said a considerable amount of irritability evident in his voice. _

"_I thought you were different, Ray." Ziva said standing up to leave the room. Then she thought of something else he needed to hear. "I thought you were the type of guy that could respect the fact that his girlfriend did not want to have sex, but apparently not." She said turning to leave._

"_Hey," Ray said trying to turn her attention back to him. There was a certain anger in his tone that Ziva had never heard before, and it scared her. "Do you know how frustrating it was to hear all the guys talk about how much they missed their wives and girlfriends, knowing they were going to go home and make love to them?"_

"_So you are just angry because I will not put out?" She hissed. Ziva couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ray had never acted this way before. The first time something like this had happened he had been very understanding and sweet about it. Why was he being so rude about it now?_

"_No, Ziva, I'm just saying I don't understand why it's such a big deal." He yelled getting more frustrated by the minute._

_Ziva walked back across the room to stand directly in front of him. "I think…" She started, but when she looked into his eyes and saw the pure anger in them her sentence was stunted. "I think if you can not respect me like a real man would then you need to leave."_

"_No, Ziva, I want you to tell me what the problem is. Is it me? Just please give me some form of an explanation." He pleaded._

"_You are such an _ass._" Ziva yelled. She really didn't want to tell him the reason she wasn't comfortable having sex just yet. For her that took a lot of trust. Trust was something Ziva only had for her NCIS family at the moment. _

_Ray looked bewildered. "Why, because I want to know why my girlfriend doesn't want to have sex with me?"_

"_Is it really that odd, Ray? Maybe I just want to wait until I'm married. This is not high school you are _not _going to get anywhere with the guilt card and you certainly aren't going to pressure me into it." She told him sternly wanting this subject to be over with._

_Ray was silent for a minute, surprised by her response. He looked around the room his eyes landing on her coffee table. On the table was a stack of movies and a box of microwave popcorn. "What's this? You don't watch movies." He asked accusingly. _

"_Well, I needed something to do while you were gone." She said flatly._

"_You're lying." he accused._

"_What makes you say that?" Ziva asked mockingly. So what if she had been having movie nights with Tony taking turns at each other's apartments._

"_DiNozzo loves movies. Have you been spending the past two months with him?" Ray accused further._

"_So what?" Ziva yelled getting angrier by the second. She was beyond done with Ray's behavior. This was just not acceptable. "Tony is my partner. We are friends. We had a few movie nights. He say he's 'culturizing' me." She said even using air quotes around the word culturizing. _

"_Well I think it was more than that." Ray told her._

"_No, it really was not. he just came over and we ate pizza and popcorn and watched movies." She told him simply. "The way you are behaving right now is simply unacceptable. You are acting like a pubescent high school boy and I think you need to leave."_

"_Nothing about my behavior is unacceptable." Ray yelled at her his voice the loudest it has been through the whole argument. "You cheated on me while I was gone I have every right to be angry with you."_

"_No you do not." She yelled back. "I did not cheat on you with Tony. I told you the truth."_

_Ray sighed trying to calm himself. Meanwhile his eyes drifted down the hall to where a laundry basket lay with a pair of mens jeans on top. He walked over and picked them up. "Are these his?" Ray asked, happy to have found something to help his argument._

Shit._ Ziva thought, remembering when Tony had spilled beer all over himself and changed into a pair of pants he had in his car. She had washed the jeans for him the other night but had forgotten to take them to work for him that next morning._

"_He spilled beer all over himself and changed into some pants he had in his car so I could wash the ones he was wearing." She told him truthfully._

_Ray wasn't buying it however. "Likely story." He glared at her as a new rage swelled within him. "I don't get it, Ziva."_

"_What the hell is there not to get, Ray?" She asked raising her eyebrows and crossing her arms as she spoke._

"_I don't get why you would cheat on me. I've treated you wonderfully throughout our whole relationship. I was even thinking about proposing to you." He told her._

_Ziva was rendered speechless for a moment. He was thinking about proposing to her? She was _not _ready for marriage. At least not with _him_. Tonight had been the deciding factor there._

"_No woman I have ever dated has treated me this way. Is it because I was gone for so long? I tried to keep in contact with you as much as I could. It was for your own safety that I couldn't contact you more. I was trying to protect you." He said, his voice rising with every word in the last sentence. _

"_Were you this much of an ass to all your other girlfriends?" She asked. _

_That was it. Ray couldn't take anymore of this from her._

_Ziva saw the rage flash through his eye and had a feeling she knew what was to come. She had seen that look too many times during her time in Africa. She closed her eyes in anticipation for the blow. Then there it was. Right under her left eye, it knocked her breathless for a moment. It was a hard hit and he was also standing very close to her when it happened._

_She tried taking a few steps back from him to grab her keys and her gun so she could leave. Ray was not about to let that happen though. He roughly grabbed her upper arms and forcing her to face him. Ziva writhed in his grip, but it was nearly impossible to escape with how hard he was holding her. She stared up at him her eyes showing all of the terror and hurt she was feeling. _

"_Do you know… How many women I could've been with in the past few months and I turned them all down. You know why?" He asked staring directly into her eyes. She looked away, not wanting to make eye contact with him any longer. "Look at me!" He yelled removing one hand from her arm to roughly turn her chin to face him. _

"_I turned them all down because I had _you _here waiting for me. I was faithful to you and you can't say the same for me." He hissed._

"_Yes I can. I told you the truth." She said using her free arm to bend the one he held her face with. He yelled out in pain and she punched his stomach and kneed him in the groin before grabbing her keys and running to her car._

When Ziva finally finished telling Tony everything that had happened the tears had come back. "I trusted him. Well, at least enough that he wouldn't do this…" She admitted. "I've never felt intimidated in the presence of any man except tonight." Her eyes remained fixed on the counter in front of her, instead of on Tony who sat next to her.

Tony's heart broke for her. She had been through so much in her life and she did _not _deserve an ass hole like Ray. She _especially _didn't deserve what he did to her tonight. No woman did. "Ziva, I'm so sorry." He apologized.

"Do not be silly, Tony. This was not your fault." She assured him.

"It was though, Ziva." He told her. "A few months ago when Ray came to NCIS and you introduced us I had this uneasy feeling that something was up with him. I just couldn't see your relationship ending on a good note. I wanted so badly to just tell the creep to get lost, but when I saw how happy he made you… I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I couldn't have you hating me." He admitted.

"Oh, Tony." She whispered reaching over to cup the side of his face. "Thank you for caring so much about me." She truly meant what she said. No man had ever shown as much care for her as Tony had ever since they became partners. He truly was a good man.

"Hey," he said taking her hand from his face in his. "I couldn't live without you." He told her flashing his 1000 watt grin.

Ziva smiled and let out a small laugh. "There's that smile again." He joked. "I knew I could bring it back."

Ziva laughed again, but just then there was a loud knock, no a banging, on Tony's door. Both of the agents grabbed their guns before making their way over to it. "It's him." Tony said after taking a look out the peep hole. "I'm not sure if he's armed or not. He looks drunk." Ziva shrank back against the wall as Ray continued to bang on the door.

"Hey, you're okay." Tony assured her gently rubbing her arm. "I'm not gonna let him hurt you I promise. Go into the living room." Ziva obeyed with one last wide-eyed look to Tony.

As soon as she was out of sight Tony opened the door. "Where is she DiNozzo?" He slurred.

"Where is who?" He asked sounding very convincing.

"Shut up. You know damn well who I'm talking about." He said pulling his gun out and pointing it towards Tony.

"Drop it, Cruz." Tony ordered raising his gun to Ray's chest.

"Is she here? Bring her here." He demanded.

"You have no right. She's not your girlfriend anymore." Tony growled.

"Oh right, I forgot she's your whore now." He laughed rolling his eyes. "Well you can have her. Just be prepared. She's a cheater."

"Do _not _talk about Ziva that way." Tony growled out the words forcing himself to not pull the trigger right there.

"Bring her out here right now or I'll shoot you right here." Ray told him.

Ziva had been just around the corner listening to the whole thing. She took a step out into the hall where they stood. "What the hell do you want?"

"Woah, what happened to your face?" He laughed almost falling over in his drunken stupor.

"You hit her, you incompetent asshole." Tony spat.

"Oh I did that? I can't say I'm sorry, she did deserve it." He laughed.

Tony instinctively stuck an arm out to pull Ziva behind him. "Drop your weapon, scumbag."

"Maybe I wanna shoot you." He said.

"Well maybe my boss wants to shoot you." Tony said.

"Wha-" Was all that escaped his mouth before a single gunshot rang out and Ray was lying on the floor in a pool of blood.

"Ziver you okay?" Gibbs asked stepping over Ray's body to stand in front of her.

"Yes…" she said quietly.

"DiNozzo's gonna take you home and stay with you tonight, okay?" He told her.

"Okay." She whispered this time, not quite sure how to process the situation.

"Alright," He kissed her temple and turned to DiNozzo. "Get some stuff for yourself together and take her home. Get some ice on her face too."

"Will do boss." Tony replied. He grabbed a change of clothes and a few other things and threw them into his backpack.

"You ready?" He asked Ziva.

* * *

Ziva had changed into her pajamas and sat down on the couch next to Tony.

"You should go to bed. You've had pretty long night" He told her concern evident in his features.

"So have you." She smiled at his concern. "Come to bed with me. I don't feel safe by myself and besides if you sleep on the couch you'll complain about your back hurting."

"Okay." He said with a yawn.

Ziva let out a laugh. "Come on." She took his hand and led him into her bedroom.

They laid down together with Tony's arm wrapped securely around Ziva. "Goodnight." He whispered into her hair.

"Goodnight, Tony." She whispered back, snuggling into his chest.

She felt so safe in his arms. Maybe it was fate that things did not work out with Ray. Maybe it was fate that she was here with Tony right now. Maybe she had known the love of her life for years and was just now starting to realize it.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks so much for reading! Please drop a review for me I would love to know what you guys think! Also go check out We Will Be Okay by K444 and leave her a review! It's a wonderful fic!**


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